Crash leads to other fender-benders

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) - State Police and drivers say a serious crash contributed to other fender-benders on I-95 overnight in Pawtucket -- by creating a traffic jam.

It all started with a collision near the Lonsdale Avenue exit a little before 2:00 a.m. Sunday, where one vehicle lost control and pushed another into a jersey barrier.

Benjamin Hunt, 24, of Cumberland, was driving the 2002 Volvo that went into the barrier. He was charged with DUI after a field sobriety test showed he had a blood alcohol level of .168 -- more than twice the legal limit. Neither he nor the other driver in that crash were seriously hurt.

But lanes on 95 became blocked while that collision was being investigated, bringing traffic to a standstill. Then, near Exit 26, a fender-bender: One of the men in a sedan said a pick-up truck came up behind them, while they were stopped, and failed to stop -- hitting them and plowing them into the car in front of them.

"The guy just, I don't know, wasn't paying attention or something," said one of the men in the middle car, John Higgins. "He hit us probably going about 60. We were stopped completely.

"Then he took off, but the cops stopped him up about a mile ahead, pinned him."

Though the white pickup's driver took off, police aren't charging him. They are, however, still investigating what happened.

It's one of about a dozen crashes State Police said they responded to during the misty, rainy night -- with wet conditions left over from Saturday's heavy rains.